#6 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14220)

CR, Must, AP. The correct answer choice is (D)

In the last paragraph of the passage, the author suggests a policy of fostering periodic fires, either by
starting them deliberately or allowing lightning fires to burn, if the location is sufficiently damp to
minimize the risk of widespread damage. As such, the author would regard a policy of allowing all
lightning fires to burn as overly extreme, likely leading to unsafe fires in some locations.

Answer choice (A): Since the author would not consider this a viable approach, this choice can
quickly be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (B): The author would regard the policy presented as far too extreme, and thus
certainly not an essential component of a new management plan.

Answer choice (C): The author suggests occasional fires to renew and protect, such an overly
extreme policy would not likely benefit older forests.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. As this choice points out, a policy that
allowed all lightning fires to burn would be considered too extreme by the author, who would see
such a policy as likely to cause the problems that land managers seek to avoid.

Answer choice (E): The author would not support such a policy because it would be too extreme and
allow for too many unsafe fires, not because it would be politically unfeasible. This choice fails to
match the prephrase discussed above and cannot be the right answer to this Must Be True question.

[Cking14]

Hi,

I didn't see anywhere in the passage about the author's beliefs regarding the lightning causing fires, but it was mentioned in the last paragraph. I chose (B) as the correct answer because I thought that the author's point was to let naturally occurring fires burn. Why is (D) correct?

Please explain.

Thanks!
Chris

[Steve Stein]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in—that's a good question. In the last paragraph of the passage, the author suggests a policy of fostering periodic fires, either by starting them deliberately or allowing lightning fires to burn, if the location is sufficiently damp to minimize the risk of widespread damage. As such, the author would regard a policy of allowing all lightning fires to burn as overly extreme, likely leading to unsafe fires in some locations. As answer choice (D) points out, a policy that allowed all lightning fires to burn would be considered too extreme by the author, who would see such a policy as likely to cause the problems that land managers seek to avoid.


I hope that's helpful! Please let me know whether this is clear--thanks!

~Steve

[Cking14]

It does help! Thank you!

[pavalos5777]

Hello,

I chose answer choice B, because the question stem provides that these fires would be "allowed to burn until they died out naturally." The damp weather mentioned in line 53 would be conducive to the fires burning out naturally. Answer choice E was a contender but I went with B because of the language in lines 50-54.

Can you please clarify this further for me?

Much appreciated,
Pierre

[Adam Tyson]

It's that limiting language about damp weather that gets us to answer D, Pierre, because the author is not advocating that ALL fires started by lightning be allowed to burn themselves out naturally, but just those that are started "when the weather is damp enough to reduce the risk of extensive damage." When the weather is not that damp, the earlier portions of the passage (beginning at line 20) suggest that such fires would be devastating. We have to get the fuel situation under control through careful land management policies, according to the author, and then allow SOME fires to burn themselves out while also incorporating carefully planned, intentionally set fires, and then periodic "maintenance burns".

Finally, the problem with answer B (as well as both A and C) is that at no point in the passage does the author ever suggest that we will get to a point where we simply let every naturally occurring fire burn itself out. This new policy is designed to simulate the natural role of fire, not abandon all human control to the whims of nature!

Hope that clears it up and allows you to see both the forest and the trees!

[roesttezz]

Hi,

Answer (D) bugs me with the phrase "land managers are seeking to avoid". I eliminated (D) because I couldn't see where the passage claimed the land managers are seeking to avoid such problems, and the only thing it stated is that land managers should seek to avoid such problems.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi roesttezz!

The most direct support for answer choice (D) is in the final paragraph, specifically around lines 50-54: "Prescribed fire management includes both the intentional lighting of controlled burns and the policy of allowing fires set by lightning to burn when the weather is damp enough to reduce the risk of extensive damage."

From that and the broader context, we know that the author sees a role for allowing fires set by lightning to continue to burn--namely, "when the weather is damp enough to reduce the risk of extensive damage." We can infer that the author would not favor letting lightning fires continue to burn when the weather is not damp enough.

Finally, the passage as a whole is about land management. Land managers are seeking to avoid a type of fire--the type that "leaves total devastation" (line 23). Similarly, letting lightning fires to continue to burn when it's not damp enough would cause "extensive damage."